Budd Wheel Buildings - Controlled Demolition

Aerial view of the Park Avenue Hotel Implosion

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River Rocked!

Two more Riverfront Holdings Inc. properties met the wrecking ball recently, thus completing a demolition trifecta by GM's real estate arm.

Having already leveled Schweizer's Place at the end of 2014, GM completed their future improvement project by demolishing the building that once housed the popular River Rock Cafe and later the less successful McNarney’s Irish Pub>River’s Edge Grille>Club Waterfalls. Also demolished was the adjoining office building at 672 Woodbridge. Suprisingly, both buildings were listed as being built in 1978.

Schweizer's Place

General Motors' real estate arm demolished one of its recently purchased Rivertown properties earlier this month. Riverfront Holdings Inc. leveled the 130 year old Schweizer's building for future improvement. The building recently housed Vondie’s on the River.

Brewster-Douglass Housing Projects

Temple Hotel

The Temple Hotel was demolished in May of 2014 to make room for the expansion of a DTE substation that will supply power to the new Detroit Red Wings arena that will be built nearby.

 (February, 2005)

(May, 2014)

 (October, 2013)

(May, 2014)

(May, 2014)

Notice

Waumbek Apartments (October, 2004)

Brush Park Deletions

As we noted back in July of 2013, when the city of Detroit filed for bankruptcy, it listed several city properties that pose an "Imminent and identifiable harm to the public health or safety." That list contained a number of properties within Brush Park that were scheduled to be demolished.

It appears that the city has remained true to its word. The Angela and another unnamed apartment building at the corner of Winder and Beaubiean have already been demolish.

 The Angela - July, 2013

 The Angela - May, 2014

February, 2009

May, 2014

Clean up work has also started on Patterson Terrace. However, it remains to be seen if this is prep work for another demolition or the beginning of a renovation.

The city only owns of one the seven units in Patterson Terrace and it is neither of the units they claimed on their 2013 filing. Almass Downtown Real Estate owns three units and Elana McKinney owns the remaining three. Almass has applied to purchase the city owned unit, but neither Almass nor Mckinney have filed a request to remove the building from the emergency demo list. It will be interesting to see how this all plays out.

Patterson Terrace - July, 2013 

Patterson Terrace - April 2014

Rubble

Demolition came swift for the remains of First Unitarian Church of Detroit.

Deconstructing Detroit: Bates Garage

May, 2013

October, 2013

April, 2014

Flattened

The Hotel Charlevoix 1905-2013

Bates Garage Demolition

The Bates Garage located at the corner of Monroe and Randolph was demolished in October. Here is a look at its final days.

As it Stands

This is all that remains of the Globe Trading Company building.

Andreas Apostolopoulos Tries Again to Demolish the State Savings Bank

Andreas Apostolopoulos of Triple Properties has applied to the Historic District Commission for permission to demolish the State Savings Bank on Fort Streetin order to build a parking garage.

This is the same Triple Properties that let the Pontiac Silverdome's roof collapse this past winter and has let the stadium rot ever since. This is also the same Triple Properties that also wants to buy the Wayne County jail site from the county in order to build a mixed-use development. That development would include a 25,000 seat soccer stadium because MLS does not want a team in Pontiac.

A hearing is scheduled for Wednesday August 14, 2013

Preservation Detroit - Save the State Savings Bank

Line to be drawn over State Savings Bank?

Brush Park Hit List

Something that was overlooked within Detroit's bankruptcy filing was an attachment listing all properties that the city owns that pose an "Imminent and identifiable harm to the public health or safety." A few of the properties on the list are located in Brush Park.  The City has identified those properties as being "structurally unsound and in danger of collapse." The City goes on to state that the properties are "scheduled for demolition."

The properties in question are:

203 and 209 Erskine (Patterson Terrace)

229 Edmund Place (The Glover House)

2457 Beaubien Street (The Angela)

 2486 Beaubien Street

Bing's Blight

Someone finally removed the decaying model home for Mayor Dave Bing's failed Watermark development in early June.

Hotel Charlevoix Demolished

MyFoxDetroit

Outdoor Adventure and Discovery Center

Demoliton work has begun on the largest section of the Globe Trading Company building as it begins its transformation into Michigan's Outdoor Adventure and Discovery Center. The center will be the latest addition to the William Milliken State Park and Harbor when it is completed some time in 2014.

The complex was constructed in phases between 1892 and 1900. It served as the home of the Detroit Dry Dock Company, Dry Dock Engine Works and the Detroit Shipbuilding Company. The Boblo Island ferry boats St. Clair and Columbia were both constructed there, and a young Henry Ford worked at the engine works as an apprentice machinist.

Hotel Charlevoix Spared (UPDATED)

Hotel Charlevoix owner Ralph Sachs got more than he bargained for when his representatives went before Detroit's Historic District Commission this week.  Not only did the commission reject his request to demolish the 107 year old building, the commission determined that Sachs was responsible for the deterioration of the structure and gave him 15 days to submit a plan to mothball the building.  At this point it is unclear what consequences Sachs would face if he fails to comply with the commission's orders.

*UPDATED 1/12/13*

A judge signed a demolition order for the building on January 9, 2013.  According to reports, the owner, Ralph Sachs has budgeted $250,000 to demolish the building this year.

I would be shocked if the Charlevoix wasn't down by opening day, just in time to rake in some parking dollars.

The demolition would also free up some more land, just in case Mike Ilitch is still considering Foxtown as a potential location for his new hockey arena development.